Review: “Quietus” by And Hell Followed With

Forged in the furnace of what many now refer to as the golden age of Deathcore, Detroit Michigan six piece And Hell Followed With have been treading the boards since 2007. Influenced by Hardcore and Melodic Death Metal while seeking to push boundaries, the bands third studio album “Quietus” sees them joined by a myriad of guests for what the band claims is “a homage to the past and a look to the future“.

Bold claims those might be but as the Symphonics of “The Great Mist” build as atmosphere of swirling darkness the bands proficient Death Metal chops become immediately apparent as they lace the track with the kind of vibrant lead parts that put some in the genre to shame and riding high over the stuccato riff breaks. That sets the standard high as the band are joined by their first guest in Tre Turner of Spirit Breaker as the fire breathing ferocity continues at breakneck speed. Put simply, anyone who saw the band self describing as Deathcore and rolled their eyes needs to look again because there is so much more to this offering than simply what you would expect from the genre standards. What And Hell Followed With have created is an elevated hybrid beast that is barbed, vicious and sublimely technical, the rich solo and blasting of “Emotionless Mass” still allowing some time for a DJent fueled downtempo crush finale in slick style. As if that wasn’t enough, the haunting cinematics of “Infinite Sequential Visions of a Sphere of Hate” are reminiscent of the early days of Winds Of Plague before the band go straight brutal with insane jackhammer footwork and blasting to accompany the demonic throat splitting vocals. “Sacrificial Human Destiny” continues the bands love of spine juddering angular riffs… Until a mid track moment of calm, clarity and reflection radiates with a clean vocal passage and melodic Progressive Metal inspired lead that is so unexpected you find yourself checking you haven’t been somehow zapped into another bands transmission.

That is a short lived moment of stunning beauty that contrasts the bands utter brutality like chalk and cheese before the haunting melodies of the cinematic instrumental title track with icy keys, orchestration and programming splitting the album clean in half. After that momentary interlude that serves as something of a palette cleansing experience to the skull battering of the earlier tracks there are no further left turns as the band bring back the guitars and rampaging kit work for the powerhouse that is “Dethroned“. It may not be as balls out heavy as some that preceded it but it has all the style and grace that push things forward once more. There are a few Black Metal leanings on some of these cuts and while  “Jewels of Urn” descends into huge DJent fueled  breakdown with guest vocals from Julian Kersey of Wormhole and Rose Funeral fame, before hand while not being raw and cave dwelling, those are as clear as day. There is no two ways about it, And Hell Followed With love doing things with epic majesty and how they have blended the elements that help create that dynamic with the complexities of their Death Metal sound is jaw dropping, especially as they are lovers of hugh breakdown styled riffs. “In Return, I Shed My Flesh” is the perfect showcase, a cut with all the elements of the bands sound in one easy to swallow pill that sounds huge. There is no style over substance here with so many moments and intricacies that it’s impossible to take them all in during one sitting, the poison challace simply overflowing with everything that goes on. If there is one small issue and it’s a minute one in the grand scheme of things, it’s the date check from Duncan Bentley during finale “The Well“, the albums single heaviest moment as it embraces Slam. That’s simply because we’re not a fan of date checks in cuts and with the single being released in 2021 and the album following in 2022 it seems odd and out of place. That being said, everything else here is a fretboard smoking delight of skull crushing magnitude and this record is pure fire [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. The Great Mist
2. Artificial Womb (ft. Tre Turner of Spirit Breaker)
3. Emotionless Mass (ft. Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher)
4. Infinite Sequential Visions of a Sphere of Hate (ft. Kyle Anderson of Brand Of Sacrifice)
5. Sacrificial Human Destiny
6. Quietus
7. Dethroned
8. Jewels of Urn (ft. Julian Kersey of Wormhole, Rose Funeral)
9. In Return, I Shed My Flesh
10. The Well (ft. Duncan Bentley of Vulvodynia)

“Quietus” by And Hell Followed With is out now via Hollowed Records / Kontrolla Music Group and is available over at bandcamp.